Snoop Dogg

Iconic in stature and in essence, Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. (born October 20, 1971, in Long Beach, California), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (or earlier in his career as Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Leading the pack of second-generation West Coast gangsta-rappers, Snoop Dogg has remained one of the most distinctive voices in hip-hop. Nicknamed "Snoop" by his mother because of his appearance, Snoop often found himself at loggerheads with the law, as a child. He spent a good portion of his post high school graduation time in and out of jail. Music became his ultimate escape route from a criminal lifestyle. Snoop started by creating homemade hip-hop tapes along with Warren G, and Nate Dogg (the trio is known as 213). Legend has it that Warren G, who happens to be the step-brother of N.W.A. co-founder Dr. Dre, passed Snoop's tape to the good doctor. Dre was sold, and began collaborating with Snoop Dogg. Snoop's first official ticket to fame was the soundtrack to the movie "Deep Cover." Following his stellar performance on the theme song, Snoop was solicited to work with Dr. Dre on the former's G-Funk opus, The Chronic. The Chronic was successful due, in part, to Snoop's charming presence on the mic. Dr. Dre compensated Snoop's Chronic contributions on the fledgling rapper's own debut, Doggystyle. Both CD's became hip-hop essentials, attained multiple platinum status, and stamped gangsta rap on the national map. In the middle of recordings for Doggystyle, Snoop was charged with being a murder accomplice in the death of Phillip Woldermarian. Snoop was allegedly in the vehicle when his bodyguard, McKinley Lee, shot and killed Woldermarian for stalking the rapper. Both Snoop and his bodyguard were acquitted on grounds of self-defense. Snoop may have beaten the murder rap, but his own rap career took some pounding of its own. Although Doggystyle became the first debut album to enter the charts at #1 and eventually sold over 4 million units, The Doggfather failed to produce any substantial hit and sales stalled at two million. Snoop eventually left Death Row for Master P's No Limit Records. While at No Limit, he dropped albums with the frequency of ABBA. Da Game Is To Be Sold Not To Be Told was his first project on P's label. He quickly followed it up with 3 more albums, but none reached the critical acclaim of Doggystyle. Snoop was undeterred. He dabbled into an array of mainstream movies including "Bones" and "Soul Plane." In 2005, Snoop dropped R&G:Rhythm & Gangsta, one of his most successful albums in years.The hit album was followed a year later by Welcome to tha Chuuch: Da Album, a collection of tracks from the Welcome to the Chuuch mixtape series. That same year he hosted a West Coast peace summit in hopes of squashing all beefs. In 2006, he appeared on Tha Dogg Pound's Cali Iz Active and Ice Cube's Laugh Now, Cry Later. Toward the end of the year the intentionally leaked "My Peoples" freestyle apppeared. The track paid tribute to many involved in Cali's Latin rap community, so it was no big surprise when "Vato" with Cypress Hill's B Real became his next album's leadoff single. The hard and very G-Funk Tha Blue Carpet Treatment triumphantly capped off a year of heavy West Coast activity.